The Law of Continuity of Being: c as Ontological Anchor — From Causal Coherence to Universal Ethics

This preprint develops an ontological interpretation of the speed of light, arguing that c is not merely a kinematic limit or an energetic barrier, but a constitutive principle of material existence. The paper introduces and defends the following formal definition: c is the maximum rate of coherent propagation within the causal structure of spacetime, where "coherent" designates any propagation that satisfies Axiom Continuitas along its trajectory. Within the framework of the Law of Continuity of Being (LCS), material identity depends on the preservation of coherent causal relations through time. The finitude of c is therefore interpreted not as an external constraint imposed upon matter, but as the structural condition under which temporal sequence, material identity, and causal coherence are possible at all. The standard energetic account (E → ∞ as v → c) and the Minkowski metric are both understood as physical expressions of this deeper ontological limit. The paper presents the four axioms of the LCS, with particular emphasis on Axiom Sum and Axiom Continuitas. It examines the ontological prohibition against exceeding c, contrasts it with the standard relativistic explanation, and introduces an analogy between spacetime and distributed systems through the CAP theorem. Time dilation is reinterpreted as a differential causal update rate within a fixed causal bandwidth. The photon paradox is addressed through two resolutions: the photon as ontological exception, and c as an asymptotic uninhabited horizon. Finally, the paper extends the same ontological structure toward ethics: the shared causal condition of all material entities grounds the maxim sum ergo debeo; debeo ergo pax — I am, therefore I owe; I owe, therefore peace. This preprint is part of a broader research program on the Law of Continuity of Being.